Well I made the tuna salad last night and will eat it tonight for dinner. Want the flavors to meld first. Used 4 cans of tuna, almost the full jar of CENTO capers (4 tablespoons), a little lemon juice just to dampen while I chopped/ground it all up with soft white bread added in the Cuisinart. Proper amount of finely diced celery too. And a good amount of regular Hellman’s. Came out like a paste the way it should. The wife tasted it this morning and she could not believe how good it is. I am waiting till dinner. So far I think that was the magic ingredient. No, I did NOT grind up the celery, that was added last with the mayo.
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FANTASTIC ! Night and day difference. THAT is how to make tuna salad. Wow. Other than maybe extra celery and trying HD mayo - I don’t think it gets better. First time in my life I had to force myself to stop eating it. I ate 4 sandwiches for dinner and could have continued. And I confirmed to myself that onions are not needed. In fact onions in tuna to me hurts the flavor. All those wasted years of eating inferior homemade tuna salad. Never thought or was told of capers. Flower buds made all the difference. Incredible.
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I gave the wife the rest to be nice. She said it was the best tuna salad she ever had. I just could not stop eating it. So tonight I will make the exact recipe but with chicken breast instead. Will poach the breasts in salted water for 10 minutes first to cook them. Then into the Cuisinart the same way.
One simple ingredient turned a blah dish into a delicacy. I never would’ve guessed to use capers.
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Nice to see a satisfied customer 
If this tuna habit becomes regular, you can buy a large jar of capers at Costco for only slightly more $ than a small jar at the grocery.
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Very grateful indeed. And that is a great idea. Because I am sure they can last in the fridge a long time like pickles. We do have a membership at Sam’s Club - same thing as Costco. Also we have something called Ocean State Job Lot here and they have a section of marinated products & such and should have the capers. And their items are less expensive than regular supermarkets. I am expecting superb chicken salad tonight.
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I ski with a group of Italians each year, and one of them brings what she calls tuna pâté, as a spread. It’s basically tuna salad made with cream cheese instead of mayo, and includes chopped basil and maybe capers. She’s from Trentino, though, not Sicily.
I like Italian tuna dishes I have tried.
One of my favourite tuna sandwiches in Toronto is from an an Italian bakery/restaurant. It’s amazing. It isn’t the deli mayo type, it’s a panini on excellent bread. Mattachioni’ s tuna sandwich
, the San Marcobruno Bakeries in [Toronto] - #26 by Phoenikia
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I think you are spot-on about the mushy homogeneous texture. And +1 to everyone who said heavy duty mayo.
I love capers; my favorite brand: Roland, hard to find. I ordered from Walmart, had to order 6 jars, gave 3 to friends. They are tiny capers.
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You are conjuring the flavor profile of tonnato sauce. If you aren’t familiar with it, do yourself a favor and use this sauce with cold sliced veal or pork tenderloin, or chicken breast. I think you’ll be a happy camper. (I even use it with purchased deli thin sliced roast beef.)
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Now that the mystery has been solved… anyone put fruit in their chicken salad? My wife’s family dices apples and grapes into the final mix. They also blend the chicken into almost a powder as a first step.
It’s not bad but just seems a bit weird. I also prefer my chicken salad with shredded chicken (fairly large pieces, I mean) rather than the powderized.
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I put fruit into Coronation Chicken salad, and Whole Foods makes a Sonoma Chicken Salad that contains grapes. I used to love the Jamaican curried chicken salad at a deli I used to frequent, which contained pineapple. I like pineapple, mangoes, apple or grapes in curried chicken salads.
I don’t put fruit in my ordinary chicken salad for sandwiches, but I do like Coronation Chicken sandwiches a lot.
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I am certain I would love that pate’. Sounds awesome to me with the cream cheese and basil. Would be wonderful on Triscuit crackers. My grandmother would make a delicious pasta sauce when I was a kid. Have not had any since. She used this can below as the base instead of making it from scratch like she did in Sicily. I think it was called Pasta Con Sarde but not certain. She may have also added cloves to her sauce besides this. I just know I could taste the fennel for sure and the sardine flavor.
Oh and thanks to the others who chimed in too : )
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Thanks, interesting. I don’t think I’ve tried Coronation Chicken Salad and had to look it up. Going to give it a whirl next time I have some mango chutney on hand.
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I have definitely used fine julienned honeycrisp apples in both tuna and chicken salad. Cuts down on some of the other sweet components (vinegar, relish), and provides a fresh taste and crunch.
I shred my chicken/tuna while mixing in the other ingredients using a paddle in a small 3qt bowl on my stand mixer. Works really well getting the courser texture I like.
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I’ve seen it done as a variation on a Waldorf type salad, but with chicken - apples, celery, grapes, walnuts, and chicken, bound by some mayo. Not horrible, but also not for everyone.
I don’t take chicken to a finely ground/powder stage for salads; I prefer more of a pulled chicken consistency. But for krab salad with surimi, I do like to pulverize it in a food processor with scallions before binding it with mayo.
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Yeah, I’ve done it -fresh pineapple and a little curry powder with the celery and onions and mayo And maybe some sliced almonds. I think the 70s are calling me.
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Served in an avocado half, or pineapple half, for parties!
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Avocado- I’ll take it!
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I make a curried chicken salad that includes raisins, preferably golden.
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House chicken salad = diced chicken breast, red onion, halved grapes, cubed skin-on apples, mayo, curry powder. eta Sharwood’s curry powder.
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